Artificial Sweeteners May Cause Weight Gain

Flickr/him) said studies of people who regularly consume diet soft drinks over time have found that those people are at higher risk for weight gain and obesity than people who don't drink sodas at all, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Diet soda drinkers also appear to have elevated risks for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome. The risks for these health effects seem to be similar in people who drink diet sodas and those who drink regular sodas.

The problem is that the taste of something sweet preps the brain and the gut for digestion of incoming calories. When the calories don't show, as happens with artificial sweeteners, normal metabolic responses misfire. Insulin doesn't increase; hormones that increase the feeling of fullness and satisfaction aren't triggered; and the brain doesn't get a feeling of reward from the dopamine that sugars release.

As a result of repeated exposure to fake sugar, when real sugar and real calories come along, the body doesn't respond to them as strongly as it should. Calories don't end up making you feel as full as they should, so you don't get the signals that might stop you from overeating. "The downside to drinking the diet sodas is that they may undermine these unconscious processes that could help us regulate our weight and other things like blood sugar," Swithers said.

Artificial sweeteners may also trick us into thinking we can eat more calories than we really should. It's the ol' "I can eat this cheeseburger because I'm having a Diet Coke" line of thinking.

"I think there are multiple things that are contributing to this," Swithers said. "Psychology is a factor, but physiology can also be altered."